The Invisible Construction Site: Building Cinema Before the Screen
Leah Ermann
The Invisible Construction Site pulls cinema apart before your eyes. Far from a traditional exhibition, it exposes the hidden labour behind film, drawing visitors into the engine room of filmmaking. Presented at the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation in Paris, the exhibition reveals how filmmakers construct films long before they reach the screen. At its centre stands Jean-Jacques Annaud, a director who builds entire worlds rather than simply telling stories. Through research, planning, and craftsmanship, cinema emerges here as a form of architecture. Filmmakers design, engineer, and assemble it before it ultimately disappears into the image.
Cinema Built Through Discipline and Collaboration
Jean-Jacques Annaud’s filmmaking method is defined by control, preparation, and relentless realism. He leaves nothing to chance and plans every element of each film as part of an invisible construction site before it appears on screen. Before filming begins, he researches, tests, and refines every detail. However, his work is never solitary. Annaud relies on skilled collaborators across all areas of production, treating cinema as a collective effort. From directing animals in The Bear and Two Brothers to inventing a prehistoric language for Quest for Fire, his films demand constant problem solving. In a fast, digital era, his process reminds us that discipline, patience, and invention build cinema.
Cinema as Craft Within the Invisible Construction Site Exhibition
Inside the Invisible Construction Site Exhibition, visitors encounter cinema at its most physical. Original storyboards, directors’ notes, and archival research trace the development of ideas long before filming begins. Scale models and detailed set reconstructions from films such as The Name of the Rose, Stalingrad, and Notre-Dame Burns reveal the precision required to create believable worlds. Costumes, technical drawings, and material samples further underscore cinema’s tangible reality. As the exhibition moves from research to filming and finally to projection, it frames filmmaking as a design process. In doing so, cinema aligns closely with architecture, fashion, and scenography, where structure, texture, and craftsmanship shape the final visual experience.
The Value of What We Never See
In a time shaped by fast content and digital shortcuts, The Invisible Construction Site feels especially relevant. Annaud’s work challenges a culture of speed and reminds us that cinema is built through patience, detail, and collective effort. Every decision, material, and gesture matters, even if it remains unseen. The exhibition ultimately celebrates a form of creation designed to disappear once projected on screen. In doing so, it reinforces a quiet truth: cinema holds its power not in what we notice, but in the invisible labour that allows the image to exist at all.
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Leah Ermann is a South African Fashion Business student whose identity and vision are deeply rooted in the landscapes, cultures, and contradictions of her home country. Growing up in South Africa meant being constantly aware of extremes. These realities shaped her sensitivity to the world around her and challenged her understanding of fashion as something far beyond surface-level beauty. In a place where many people are fortunate simply to own a pair of shoes, Leah learned early on that clothing carries meaning, privilege, and responsibility.
Alongside this awareness grew a profound connection to nature and conservation, spending a lot of time in the bush deepened her understanding of the impact humans have on endangered wildlife and fragile ecosystems. Leah sees fashion as a silent but powerful language, a way to express identity, values, and cultural stories without words.
She is driven by a desire to explore the deeper meanings behind collections, to learn from new cultures, and to use fashion as a platform to amplify South African creativity, resilience, and humanity. Ultimately, her goal is to create work that not only reflects where she comes from whilst learning about other cultures, but also contributes to change, honoring both people and the natural world that shaped her.
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